I-9 Internal Audit
Employers should conduct annual internal audits. Audits can be used as evidence of good faith compliance and are extremely helpful in decreasing potential civil fines. Audits provide an opportunity to correct technical or procedural mistakes; train the person(s) responsible for I-9 completion; and establish and/or reevaluate policies and procedures of the process. An internal audit should mirror a potential government audit.
To conduct an audit, the auditor should obtain a payroll list of all current and former employees (those that have separated within the last three years). The audit should verify that all current employees (hired after November 6, 1986) have an I-9 form on file.
The auditor should methodically review each I-9 to check for errors and omissions. Common mistakes include:
• Section One: Employee fails to sign and/or date the form; employee fails to complete section on the date of hire; employee fails to check one of the three boxes regarding employment status; employee checked the incorrect box regarding his or her status; and employee fails to list his or her alien number, admission number, or expiration date.
• Section Two: Employer fails to sign and/or date section; employer fails to fill in the date of hire; employer fails to complete section within three business days of hire; employer photocopied the employee’s documents and noted “see attached” without completing section; employer accepted unacceptable documents (expired legal permanent residency card; I-94 card indicating visitor’s visa status); and employer accepted too many documents (including items from lists A, B, and C).
• Section Three: Employer fails to complete this section when an employment authorization has expired; employer fails to enter date of rehire or date noted is wrong; and employer fails to note the title and/or identification number of the List A or List C document provided by employee.
During the audit, corrections should be made. Section one can only be corrected by the employee. Sections two and three can only be corrected by the employer’s representative. The person making corrections should use a different color of ink to write in the correct information and cross out the incorrect information with a single line, then initial and date the correction. The auditor should note on the form “corrected during self-audit, [date].”
If information is discovered during the audit that could lead a reasonable person to believe that the documents produced are not genuine or do not relate to the person presenting them, the employer should take further steps to investigate the employee’s work authorization and status. Otherwise, the employer could face liability for knowingly employing an unauthorized worker. Further investigation could include meeting with the employee and/or asking the employee to present additional documentation. However, the employer should be careful not to engage in document abuse and employment discrimination related practices.
No comments yet
Jump to comment form | comment rss [?] | trackback uri [?]